Tabbouleh or Tabbouli recipe

Hello HTS Community

Tabbouleh, also known as Tabbouli, is a Levantine salad, with plenty of finely chopped parsley, with tomatoes, mint, onion, bulgur, and seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Some variations add lettuce, spring onion, or use semolina or broken wheat instead of bulgur. 

Bulgur is parboiled cracked wheat, so it’s a whole grain. Once prepared, it’s tender and fluffy. Bulgur is often confused with couscous or quinoa or even daliya, but they’re not the same. Authentic tabbouleh is made with super fine grain bulgur and it’s soaked rather than cooked, but I haven’t been able to find it at regular grocery stores. So I use daliya (broken wheat) in the recipe, but this needs to be cooked before using it to make Tabbouleh. There are several other varieties of bulgur, and you’ll probably find only one option at the store. So, cook (or soak) it according to the package directions.

Tabbouleh is often served as a part of mezze with hummus, labneh, pita and vegetables. It’s a perfect salad for summer that goes very well with your sandwich, toast or a wrap.

Ingredients you will need:

• Bulgar / Daliya – 1/4 cup
• Curley parsley- 1 bunch
• Mint leaves- 10-12
• Tomato- 1 medium
• Onion- 1 small
• Lemons- 2 (juiced)
• Extra virgin olive oil- 1/4 cup
• Salt and Pepper – to taste

Steps to make Tabbouleh:

• Start by soaking the bulgar or daliya in an inch of just boiled water with 1 teaspoon lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Cover it and leave for 10-15 minutes. If using daliya (broken wheat), cook it on medium heat with another 3 tablespoon of water, until the water has mostly evaporated. Set asides and let it cool down.
• Wash and dry parsley and mint, remove the stems and finely chop the herbs together. The key to a perfect Tabbouleh is finely chopping the herbs, else you may get a mouthful of parsley while eating, which is kind of bitter. Keep the chopped herbs in a big bowl.
• Remove seeds from tomato and chop finely along with onion.
• Drain the remaining water from bulgar or daliya and add it to the chopped vegetables.
• Season the salad with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Adjust the seasoning and cover the salad to let it rest in a refrigerator for at least 1 hour before you eat.
• Serve at room temperature with hummus and labneh on a mezze with warm Manakish Zaatar and enjoy.